Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha

Mitsubishi Pencil Company, Limited

Yasunobu Zushi

Yasuhiro Ueda

Shinya Kusunoki

Masahiro Ishida

Manabu Miura

Kenichi Shimura

Naoki Ishii

Kenji Ishikawa

Hidenori Tanabe

Takanori Tominaga

Hideaki Kitou

Shinichi Mizuno

Kouhei Taoka

Taku Aoike

Provided is an indwelling catheter which is stiff when being inserted into a vessel such as a blood vessel, softens after indwelling in the vessel, and conforms to a shape in a direction in which the vessel runs. In the indwelling catheter, the maximum value of a catheter repulsive force in a dry state at 25&#xb0; C. is 0.10 N or more; the maximum value of the catheter repulsive force when immersed in warm water at 37&#xb0; C. is 0.01 to 0.25 N; a ratio of the maximum value of the catheter repulsive force in a dry state at 25&#xb0; C. to the maximum value of the catheter repulsive force when immersed in warm water at 37&#xb0; C. is in a range of 3.5:1 or more; and the maximum value of the catheter repulsive force when immersed in warm water at 37&#xb0; C. is 0.027 N or less after 5 minutes from indwelling.

Indwelling catheter

A catheter assembly includes a catheter, a catheter hub, an inner needle, and an inner needle hub. The catheter assembly is disposed in a hollow portion axially extending in the interior of the inner needle, and includes a blunt needle having a distal end portion blunter than a needle tip and a movement mechanism for moving the blunt needle. The movement mechanism is configured separately from the catheter hub and causes the distal end of the blunt needle to protrude beyond the needle tip along with the movement of the catheter.

Catheter assembly

A catheter includes: a first port; a second port; a first lumen communicating with the first port; a second lumen configured to selectively communicate with the first port and/or the second port; and a switching mechanism part selectively switchable between a first switching state in which the first port and the second lumen communicate with each other and a second switching state in which communication between the first port and the second lumen is blocked.

Catheter, switching device, and method for operating catheter

A connector of the present invention includes a housing and a valve, wherein the housing has a flow path and a pipe connecting port, and the valve is formed of an elastic material and is adapted to block the pipe connecting port. The valve has a substantially columnar deformable portion. The deformable portion has a top surface exposed from the pipe connecting port, a bottom surface opposite to the top surface, and a slit that reaches extends from the top surface to the bottom surface. When the top surface is pressed by the pipe, the deformable portion of the valve will be displaced toward the flow path while elastically deforming, so that inner surfaces that define the slit will face the flow path, and the top surface will form an opening that communicates with the flow path.

Connector

A connector of the present invention includes a housing and a valve, wherein the housing has a flow path and a pipe connecting port, and the valve is formed of an elastic material and is adapted to block the pipe connecting port. The valve has a substantially columnar deformable portion. The deformable portion has a top surface exposed from the pipe connecting port, a bottom surface opposite to the top surface, and a slit that extends from the top surface to the bottom surface. When the top surface is pressed by the pipe, the deformable portion of the valve will be displaced toward the flow path while elastically deforming, so that inner surfaces that define the slit will face the flow path, and the top surface will form an opening that communicates with the flow path.

A connector includes a housing having a flow path through which liquid passes, and a male connector connecting portion having a substantially circular tube hole communicating with the flow path; and a valve formed of an elastic material and adapted to block the male connector connecting portion of the housing. The valve includes a top surface exposed from the male connector connecting portion, a bottom surface opposite to the top surface, and a slit opened at least on the top surface or the bottom surface. The housing includes a stopping portion configured to be engaged with a tip end of a male connector to define an insertion length of the male connector.

A catheter assembly includes: an inner needle; an inner needle hub connected to the inner needle; a catheter through which the inner needle is inserted; a catheter hub connected to a proximal end portion of the catheter; and a protector that covers at least the tip of the inner needle when the inner needle is withdrawn. The protector includes: an inner tube, and an outer tube. The inner tube includes at least one arm that releasably engages with a proximal end of the catheter hub. The catheter assembly is configured such that, when the inner needle is withdrawn, after the tip of the inner needle has been stored in the protector, the outer tube is retracted with respect to the inner tube thereby allowing the at least one arm to be displaced outwardly, whereby engagement between the at least one arm and the catheter hub is released.

A connector comprises a housing; a main flow path being configured such that fluid is flowable from a first tube through the main flow path into a second tube; and a connection terminal including a connection side space, the connection terminal being configured such that a third tube is connectable to the connection terminal and an auxiliary flow path of the third tube communicates with the main flow path via the connection side space. The main flow path includes a main flow path side space that is continuous with at least the connection side space and is defined by: a bottom part facing the connection side space and a pair of side parts extending from opposite sides of the bottom part toward the connection side space, and at least one wall surface configured to direct the fluid toward the connection side space and toward at least one of the side parts.

This invention provides a medical device in which its lubricity is continually maintained and its safety is guaranteed. Particularly, it provides a medical device in which lubricity is generated on at least a portion of its surface when the device is contacted with body fluids or exposed to physiological aqueous conditions, wherein the lubricity-generating portion is formed by thermoforming.

Growing community of inventors

Yamanashi, Japan

Yasunobu Zushi